MOLDY LEATHER HOLSTERS

armilite

I had a bunch of leather holsters packed away in a cardboard box that have a powderery white mold like substance on them. Tried cleaning them a few times with leather type dressings but this powdery substance still keeps coming back. My basement is pretty dry and I keep the dehumidifier running and the holsters are stored out in the open. I don't want to hang them outside on the clothes line to dry out plus I don't want to have the neighbors snooping around. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

thunderbolt

Try saddlesoap.

p3skyking

Isopropyl alcohol rub before anything else and keep dry.

mcaso

Saddle soap took care of mine. The room is warm and dry. The white powder never came back.

beantownshootah

As you can imagine this is a relatively common problem with leather horse saddles which are pricey, and can often get wet, leading to mold.

Saddlesoap is a good fix.

When doing this, make sure you clean off parts of the holster that don't appear moldy as spores may have settled there than can re-infect the leather later.

Likewise, you should probably also clean up the area/container where the holsters were kept for exactly the same reason; that area is likely full of mold spores.

glabray

Much like mildew elsewhere, once established it can be quite difficult to eradicate to the point that it does not return. Saddlesoap treats the symptoms but the mold will return if exposed to moisture for any length of time. I once had a bad mold problem with some leather chaps that had been wet several times and not dried properly. I finally licked it by mixing some anti-fungal (the kind you mix into paint for bathroom walls and ceilings) into some neatsfoot harness oil. That did the trick.